PIETY
A Discou RSE
SHOWING THE
-
Incompatibility of Dancing with Spiritual Religion.
BY REV. E. W. BORDEN.
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“Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.”—ST. PAUL.
“Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”—JOHN, THE APOSTLE.
-
ETJET,ISIEELET) BTSZ EIBQTUTEST-
Midland, April, 1875.
EAST SAGINAW, MICH. :
DAILY courtER STEAM PRINTING House.
1875.



DANCING AND PIETY
A DISCOURSE
SHOWING THE
Incompatibility of Dancing with Spiritual Religion.
“Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.”—St. PAUL.
“I.ittle children, keep yourselves from idols.”—John, THE APOSTLE.
PUBLISEHIED EY ElBQTJEST-
Midland, April, 1875.
EAST SAGINAW, MICH. :
DAILY couri En STEAM Piti NTING IIous E,
1875.
%- Žod.4-2.
3 - 7 -/732
DANCING AND PIETY.
opBNING REMARKs,
MY DEAR FRIENDS :
The subject to which I call your attention this morning may not
be entirely interesting to all of my hearers, and yet it would seem that
all persons ought to feel interested in hearing what the minister regards
as Gospel truth. I am called to this pulpit to teach the principles of
religion, as set forth in the Bible; and, as a minister of the Gospel, I
am to draw all my authority from the teachings of Christ and His
apostles. Were I, by my voice or silence, to give any encouragement
to a course of conduct out of harmony with the spirit of the Gospel, my
people might suffer spiritual loss, and I should be held accountable to
God. This Church employ me as their spiritual guide, and as such a
guide the people come to hear me preach, and give of their means
toward my support. I, therefore, take it for granted, that I am
expected to teach the spiritual truths of Christianity, and to show the
people what they must do to be saved, and what they must avoid doing.
Then, it is for me to show what will tend toward the spiritual good of
the people—what will serve to increase, in the heart of each, true piety,
and to bring us all into fellowship with God. Now, if my people are
anxious to know these things, then they will be willing to hear
what the Gospel teaches; and should it appear that they have inadver-
tently indulged in some things that are detrimental to a life of piety,
they will be both willing to hear and take advice. It is to this class of
persons that I direct this discourse. It is not in my heart to make your
pleasures less, but I would have you live a more spiritual life, and find
4 I)ANCING AND PIETY.
your pleasures in spiritual things. It is not of choice that I preach on
themes not entirely agreeable to all my hearers, but sometimes necessity
seems to be laid upon me. Sunday before last, I made but a passing
remark, in my morning sermon, on the impropriety of Social dancing ;
and in the next issue of our leading village paper there appeared a long
list of Scripture texts, interspersed through a column of local items, all
of which, it was to be inferred, encouraged the social dance. To this
column of Bible texts my attention was called by others, with an inti-
mation that I had better explain those texts if I could. This seemed to
me like a fair and honest challenge, and I now propose in the following
discourse to show what the Bible says about dancing, and in what light
the social dance is held by the teachers of Christianity.
I shall take for my text one of the most prominent Scripture passages
that was placed by our village editor in the columns of the Midland
Times : -
DANCING AND PIETY.
“And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp,
that he saw the calf and the dancing ; and Moses' anger waxed hot, and
he cast the tables out of his hands, and break them beneath the mount.”
-Exodus 32: 19. - -
The incident of which this text speaks took place in the camp of
Israel, while they were encamped at Mt. Sinai. It was at this place
that the Israelites received the ten commandments, and on the fiftieth
day after their departure out of Egypt. They left Egypt in the begin-
ning of the spring months, and in the month answering to our May they
received the moral law from God by the hand of Moses. At Mt. Sinai
they remained encamped for about one year; and during this time the
Tabernacle was constructed by Divine command for the purpose of
religious worship. Moses received instructions from God how to make
the tabernacle, and we are told that he was in the mount, while receiving
these instructions, forty days and forty nights. During this long
absence of Moses, the people became uneasy about their leader, and
they were tempted to adopt their old methods of worship to which they
were accustomed in the land of Egypt. Under the name of Apis, the
Egyptians worshiped the bull, an image of which was the symbol of
their chief deity. The Israelities had been a long time accustomed to
these idolatries, and, no doubt, they had taken part in them. It was
scarcely to be expected that two millions of people would be turned in
DANCING AND PIETY. 5
less than one year's time from one system of religious belief to another.
They had an ardent love for the traditions of their fathers, and this,
together with the rigorous oppressions which they experienced at the
hands of their Egyptian masters, had made them ready to 1eceive Moses
as their leader and deliverer ; and, thus receiving him, they accepted his
religious teaching. But, so soon as they thought their leader was
really gone, they became bewildered in their new and strange situation,
and began to clamor for a return to their-former methods of worship.
Said they in much heat to Aaron : “Up, make us gods which shall go
before us ; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the
land of Egypt, we know not what has become of him.” Such was their
noisy clamor, and violent protestations, that Aaron thought it best to
yield to their demands; and it is no uncommon thing for a minister of
religion to yield to the idolatrous wishes of his people. Aaron became
the mere tool of the people, and he was ready to do what they required;
and taking the gold ornaments that were worn by the women, these
were fashioned into the form of a calf, representing the Egyptian god,
Apis. And they set up the calf, and burnt incense, and offered the
various offerings, eating and drinking to the honor of the idol, and then
rose up to play. On such occasions, it was the custom of the Egyptians
to have music and dancing, which was performed before the idol; nor
was this peculiar to the Egyptians; all heathen nations have the music
and the dance to accompany their idolatrous devotions. We are told
by travelers that, in almost every feast among the Hindoos, dancing
takes place before the idol. On this occasion, in the wilderness, the
Israelites simply did what they were accustomed to see done among the
Egyptian idolaters. -
On coming down from the mount, Moses heard the noise of the
music and the dance, and he at once felt the most painful suspicions of
what might be going on in the camp. And as he came near, he saw
the calf and the dancing; then he burned with righteous indignation,
and in despair of being able to lead this people out of idolatry into the
knowledge and worship of the true God, he cast the tables of the law
out of his hands, and they were broken at the foot of the mount. We
have now a brief history of the case before us; but, we want to know
the peculiar nature of this whole affair; what was it all about 2 What
was the serious wrong on the part of the people 7 Was Moses, himself,
excusable for his heated indignation against the people on this occasion?
w
6 DANCING AND PIETY.
And can there be any justification for that religious teacher who, seeing
his own professed friends and adherents turning a deaf ear to his
teachings, shall show great warmth and earnestness in his efforts to turn
them from delusive follies back into the way of truth 7 As to the
peculiar nature of the doings among the people, on this occasion, it is
beyond all doubt that they were performing religious devotions. The
idol they had made and set up they accepted as an object of devotion.
They had made the customary offerings to the idol, they had eaten and
drank to his honor, and now they were having the customary dance
before the idol, accompanied with the music. The dance, in connection
with religious worship, was not ordered of God. God gave His people
full instruction concerning religious rites and ceremonies, but the dance
is not mentioned in these instructions. The first mention of the dance
among the Jews is a case of triumph over their enemies. On leaving
Egypt, they were pursued by Pharoah and his men of war. Israel was
brought into great straits. It seemed impossible for them to escape
destruction. In their rear were their oppressors, full of cruel wrath
against them. In their front rolled the waters of the Red Sea. At the
command of God the Israelites formed rank, with their faces toward the
sea. Moses, with his rod in hand, led the people to the water's edge.
Here was a brief halt. But soon the word of the Lord came to Moses,
saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, that they go forward ; and do
thou lift up thy rod, and stretch it out over the sea, and the waters
shall divide, and give you a dry passage through the sea.” It was
done; and Israel passed safely through the sea to the other side ; and
the Egyptians, attempting to follow them, were overwhelmed by the
returning waters, and drowned in the sea, Pharaoh and all his host.
Then all Israel rejoiced ; and Miriam, Moses' sister, took a timbrel in
her hand ; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and
with dances. This kind of rejoicing was what they had seen practiced
among the Egyptians on occasions of exultation and triumph over
their enemies. The Israelites very innocently adopted this method of
giving expression to their joy, turning the dance into an expression of
religious thankfulness to God for His wonderful deliverance. In the
days of the Judges, Jephthah led the hosts of Israel against the Am-
monites, and in battle proved victorious ; on his triumphant return
from the field of battle, his daughter came out to meet him with tim-
brels, and with dances. Another instance of the dance is mentioned in
DANCING AND PIETY. © 7
***
connection with the triumph of the Hebrews over the Philistines, when
David, being a mere youth, slew Goliah. Saul was then king of Israel;
and when David, in company with the king, returned from the battle
in triumph, the women came out of the cities of Israel, singing and
dancing, to meet the king, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments
of music. On all these occasions it will be observed that the women led
the dance, and that it was performed in broad day-light, and in the
open air. These were not cotillion parties, not the ordinary balls of our
day, they were not fashionable hops. These dances were not a promis-
cuous commingling of the sexes; but the men and women danced apart;
a woman led out her own sex in the dance, and in like manner a man
led out his own sex; thus performing their parts separately. These
dances were simply the ovations of conquerors, similar to the ovation of
George Washington, when on his way to New York city, after the war
was over, and Peace was declared; he was met by a large company of
women, dressed in pure white, and bedecked with wreaths of beautiful
flowers; and as they went forth to meet that noble hero, they spread
garlands of flowers in his path-way; and, forming an arch of roses, they
caused that good man to drive with his carriage and his six noble greys
through that beautiful arch of posies. That was an ovation, indeed!
That was an expression of the triumph of Christian freemen, in the 18th
century of Jesus Christ; but the other cases that I have noticed
occurred in the days of old Judaism, when Divine revelation had not
yet fully delivered God's chosen people from the sensualisms of
heathenish idolatry. The spiritual religion of the Gospel lifts us out
-of, and above sensualism, and gives us more refined and elevated tastes.
Spiritual religion cultivates the intelligence more than it does the lower
emotions of humanity. In the Bible the word dance is sometimes used
to denote gladness, or great joy; as in the 30th Psalm : “Thou hast
turned for me my mourning into dancing.” This is the language of
king David ; and it seems very expressive of his conduct on a certain
occasion, when the ark of God was brought back after a long absence
among the Philistines. The ark was taken away in the last days of Bºi.
The Philistines held the ark in captivity; but they became
alarmed at their keeping of it, and regarded themselves as sufferers in
consequence; so they sent it back to the Hebrews. And when the ark
was brought into the city of David, David received it with gladness,
and he danced before the Lord with all his might. From the account
8 - *
DANCING AND PIETY.
here given, we are led to suppose that this dancing of David was simply
an outburst of excessive joy and gladness. It is said: “And as the
ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal, Saul's daughter
and the wife of David, looked through a window and saw king David
leaping and dancing before the Lord ; and she despised him in her
heart ; and she said to David : “How glorious was the king of Israel
to-day, who threw off his royal mantle in the presence of the multitude,
to dance as one of the vain fellows, doing it openly P’ “But,” said
David, “it was before the Lord, who chose me, instead of my father, to
be king in Israel; and I will be yet more vile in thine eyes, and base in
mine own sight, also, if pious zeal for the Lord makes me vile.” Now,
this dancing of David was somewhat like that of the lame man whom
Peter healed. He was looking to receive some gift from Peter and
John, as he sat begging at the gate of the temple; but Peter told him
he had no money to give; nevertheless he would give such benefit as he
could. Then said Peter: “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
rise up, and walk. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered
with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.”
That poor fellow might surely have said as did David : “Thou' hast
turned for me my mourning into dancing.” In the parable of the
prodigal son, it is stated in evidence of the joy in the father's house,
on the return of that son, that music and dancing were heard. The
reference in this place to music and dancing is simply expressive of the
prevailing gladness in that house. The word, dance, is sometimes used
as a synonym for joy or gladness; as in Ecclesiastes: “A time to weep,
and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” In this
place to mourn and to dance are put in antithesis ; just as to weep
and to laugh are put in opposition in the foregoing clause. The word
dance, as here used, does not mean a measured step to music, but simply
gladness of heart in opposition to sorrow. But there were among the
Jews various dances on great festal occasions. In the last chapter of
the book of Judges we read of a yearly feast in Shiloh, on the north side
..', Yºof Beth-el. At these festivals it was customary for the young women
to dance; not for men and women to dance together, in a mi
pany; but the women danced alone; one led out, and the others
followed her. On one of these occasions, we are told that the
Benjaminites, who by war had been nearly destroyed,—their wives and
children being killed—the men were permitted, by consent of the other
DANCING AND PIETY. 9
tribes of Israel, to catch each man a young woman at the dance in Shiloh,
and she should become his wife. If we read this passage understand-
ingly, it will clearly appear that this dance in no way resembled one of
our modern balls. In our day, it is true, a young man may catch a
young woman at a dancing party, who becomes his wife; but it is
generally by mutual consent that she is caught. And sometimes, in our
day, the commingling of the sexes in the dance leads to the mutual
consent of the parties to take part in some very criminal associations.
Our dances are too often mere night revels; those of the Jews were in
open day. This transaction in Shiloh—the stealing of the maidens—is
said to have occurred when there was no king in Israel; every one did
what was right in his own eyes. However, it does not appear but that
the Benjaminites, who at this time stole for themselves wives, treated
those wives well, and the relation, thus formed by an act of violence,
became a mutual satisfaction. In classic story, we have a very similar
transaction related by Livy, in connection with the early history of
Rome. We are told that Romulus, the founder of Rome, having laid
the foundations, and built the walls of that city, in order to secure a
population, he proclaimed it an asylum, and invited thither those who
had shed blood, and those who, as slaves, had fled from their masters.
In a short time, he had gathered together quite a large population of men,
but there were no women in the city; and the character of the men was
such that the women of the neighboring Latin towns would have nothing
to do with them. To remedy this evil, Romulus resorted to stratagem;
he appointed a time for a great celebration in honor of the god Consus;
and he invited all the contiguous Latin towns, and the Sabines in
particular, to witness the games at the celebration. The people came
in great crowds, and while they were witnessing the games, and were
very intent on seeing the show, the young men of Rome rushed into the
crowd, and seized all the marriageable maidens, and kept them as wives.
This violent proceeding was cause of war, for a time, but entire harmony
was afterward restored; and we are told that, the marriage relation,
which was in vain sought by the Romans with the Sabini, on friendly
ter sa was now fully established by mutual consent, after this violent
transaction. The two cases are very similar; and, according to history,
the stealing of the maidens, at the feast of Shiloh, was about 1,400
before Christ; and the stealing of the Sabini maidens was about 750
before Christ, These incidents bear evidence of a very rude state of
10 JDANCING AND PIETY.
civilization; it was, indeed, a period in the history of those nations when
the lower emotions of men predominated. It was not the spiritual, but
the carnal age of Humanity.
But, in the Bible, we have also some accounts given of dancing at
feasts of a much later date, even as late as the days of the Herods.
Matthew and Mark give substantially the same account of a dance that
took place on Herod's birth-day. This was Herod Antipas, son of
Herod the great, and brother of Herod Philip. He was at this time
living with his brother Philip's wife, in violation of marital laws; and
the young woman who danced, and so greatly pleased Herod Antipas,
was the daughter of his brother Philip, by Herodias, the woman with
whom he was now living in illicit intercourse. Such were the parties,
who made a great feast, and in connection therewith had a royal and
fashionable dance. The daughter of Herodias was true as steel to her
accomplished mother. The mother was a high-bred lady; and she
belonged to the highest circles of fashionable society. Of course she
knew how to dance; and so did her daughter; and when this fashion–
able lady got the foolish king into a spot where he thought it would
compromise his dignity to refuse the request of a young girl, urged on
by her cruel and libidinous mother, then said that accomplished lady :
“Now John Baptist, your head has got to go for your impudence in
telling Herod Antipas that it is unlawful for him and me to live
together!” And this resolution she carried out; nor was she as fickel
in this as in her marital relations. John the Baptist did not attend
that dance, but his head was brought there, in order to increase the
pleasures of the mistress of that royal and fashionable dance. That
was a select, social dance We have now seen, according to the Holy
Scriptures, that the dance was, to some extent, practiced among the
Jews; it was common on Occasions of great joy and gladness; as when
David danced before the ark of the Lord. It was common in celebrating
triumphs; as in the case of Miriam, when Israel was delivered out of
the hands of the Egyptians; and as when David returned from the battle-
field with the head of the great Goliah. It was common at certain feasts;
as that we have mentioned in Shiloh; and another, of which the prophet
Jeremiah speaks, in the following: “Again I will build thee, and thou
shalt be built, O virgin of Israel; thou shalt again be adorned with thy
tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.”
DANCING AND PIETY. 11
This has respect to the promise of God to restore the desolations of
Israel, and that the former times of prosperity, joy and gladness shall
Teturn.
There is also a clear intimation that the dance was sometimes
employed in religious service; as when the Israelites worshiped the calf
in the wilderness; and in the 149th and 150th Psalms, where it is said:
“Let them praise His name in the dance. Praise Him with the timbrel
and dance.” But, it must be considered that all this was in an age
when the animal emotions predominated over the spiritual. The whole
System of Jewish worship consisted in outward rites and ceremonies.
For every truth they required an outward visible sign. In this regard
the Hebrew worship resembled heathenism. What chiefly distinguished
the Hebrew religion from that of Paganism was the fact that it taught
one God only, while the religion of Paganism taught a great multiplicity
of gods. It was, therefore, quite easy to engraft upon the Jewish forms
of worship some of the Pagan acts of devotion. Israel had no similitude
of a God before which to bow, and sing, and dance ; but they had the
visible tokens or symbols of God’s throne, of His presence, His glory,
and of His mercy-seat; and before these symbols David danced with all
his might; and he wanted others to do as he did. Said he “Let
them praise His name in the dance.” But David's notion of worship
is no guide for us, nor are the social manners and customs of the Jews
any guide to Christian people. The Gospel of Jesus Christ has cast its
spiritual light upon us, and has set us far in advance of that fleshly age,
when even religious service largely consisted of merely carnal ordinances.
But it should not be lost sight of that the dance among the Jews never
admitted the commingling of the sexes. And while it is manifest that
the dance, by men and women apart, was common among the Jews, it
is also manifest that they recognised the fact that dancing was sometimes
employed in a sinful manner. The dance, in itself, is innocent enough,
but it indicates a turning of the mind and heart toward worldly
pleasures, which is idolatry. It was not the dancing of Israel that
angered Moses, it was their idolatry. They left the one true God to
dance before a calf. Idolatry is the opposite of piety. A choice of one
turns us from the other. To both we cannot hold. Idolatry, now, under
the Gospel, is a name denoting the carnal or worldly tendency of the
spirit in man. Piety is a name which denotes the spiritual and heaven-
ward tendency of the spirit in man; and, since the Gospel system has
12 DANCING AND PIETY.
abolished carnal rites and ceremonies, the dance has no more place in
religious service;. it was brought in from Paganism, and was simply
tolerated during the old system of outward signs and material manifes-
tations, as expressive of our'grosser and basilar emotions; but now it
is to be cast out as an element entirely foreign to the spiritual religion
of Jesus Christ. Henceforth, the dance has no part with Christianity.
It does not, nor is it possible that it should, aid piety in its spiritual
exercises and heavenward tendencies. Idolatry, which is earthward, La
grasping of sensual pleasures, a setting up of idols and rejoicing in them
—this may be, and very largely is, served by the dance. Here, then, is
Piety on the one hand, to be served by cultivating the intelligence and
the spiritual aspirations of the immortal soul; and on the other hand is
Idolatry—love of the world, its riches, honors, pleasures; and this
idolatry is sensualism, and is served only in the gratification of the
carnal appetites and passions. This kind of service calls for the dance,
and for whatever tends to animal excitement; the animal emotions
delight in physical excitements, but the higher emotions, belonging to
our spiritual nature, are fed only by mental, moral, and religious exer-
cises. These last named exercises lift us up from the world, and join
us in delightful fellowship with spiritual pursuits; but, the feeding of
the carnal appetites and passions carries us downward in thought and
feeling, and joins us in fellowship with the things that are earthly.
And to mind earthly things—looking with desire on the things which
are seen—Setting the affections on things on the earth—this, according
to the spirit of the Gospel, is Idolatry. Now, what I feel concerned,
about is, how to turn idolaters from their idols to the service of the
one only living and true God. It is not the dancing, in itself, that
troubles me, it is rather the fact, of which their dancing is evidence, that
they know not God. For, as soon as they fully turn their hearts to
God, in obedience to the words of Jesus, the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit enter those hearts, and make their abode there. Then, in
fellowship with God, and delighting in the pure spiritual religion of the
Gospel, they will have no further use for the dance, and it will cease of
itself. But sometimes idolatry forces itself upon the attention of Christ's
disciples, and a controversy is begun, similar to that which ensnared
our mother Eve in Paradise. The question is urged : “What harm is
there in dancing * “And then, is it any worse than kissing plays, or
gossiping and senseless laughter 7" This line of argument is simply
DANCING AND PIETY. 13
calculated to divert the mind from the one all important consideration.
The thing to be kept in mind is, that there are two tracks to follow ;
one leads upward, to spiritual life, to God, and heaven; the other leads
downward, to a life of mere sensualism, and the end thereof is death.
When Christians give their attention to the arguments of sinners, and,
themselves, take up those arguments, and repeat them to themselves, or
to others, then there is danger of unholy alliances being formed between
Christians and mere worldlings. Christianity speaks to us on this wise:
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any
man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that
is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the
pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the friend-
ship of the world is enmity with God. Therefore, whosoever will be a
friend of the world is the enemy of God.” The world is toward
sensualism, but true religion is toward God and spirituality. For this
reason, Paul admonishes us as follows: “If ye be risen with Christ,
set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth; for ye
are dead to the world, and your life is hid with Christ in God. Where-
fore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.” That is, flee from all
those sensual pleasures that have a tendency toward worldliness and
sin. The apostle Peter says: “Let the time past of our life suffice us
to have done as mere worldlings do ; we walked with them for a time
in revellings and banquetings, and they now think it strange that we
run not with them to the same excess of riot as aforetime; and so they
speak evil of us,” thinking thereby to induce us to return to our old
worldly pleasures and associations. But it should be carefully consid-
ered that, whatever worldlings may say or do to turn Christian people
from piety, and to have them do, as they themselves do, it is, nevertheless,
a conscientious firmness, on the part of Christians, that leads the
ungodly to respect religion, and to feel the need of it themselves. It is
no uncommon thing to hear the irreligious say: “I like to see people
decided, and be something positive, on one side or the other.” To
preach the Gospel, the minister must of necessity show that to become
disciples of Jesus, we must come out from the world, and be separate
from sinners. Says Jesus : “Ye are not of the world, but I have
chosen you out of the world ; therefore, the world hateth you. If any
man will be my disciple, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and
follow me. If any person love father, mother, brother, sister, husband,
14 DANCING AND PIETY.
wife, child, or even his own life, better than me, he cannot be my
disciple.” It was under this kind of teaching that the Gospel Church
took its rise; and it was this same teaching that caused the Church to
grow into a mighty power of moral and religious reform. The world
was compelled to acknowledge that, through the Gospel, a moral power
had been introduced into the world that, in spite of all opposing
influences, was actually separating mankind into two distinct classes;
the one being left in groverling sensualism, while the other is taken and
lifted to higher planes of life and usefulness. The fact of human
character being made separate from sinners first attracted notice in the
person of Jesus Christ, “who was holy, harmless, undefiled, separate
from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.” This Jesus is set
forth as our example, that we should walk even as He walked. That
we may thus walk, Paul admonishes us to have no fellowship with the
unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. “Be not ye
unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what fellowship hath
righteousness with unrighteousness P and what communion hath light
with darkness & And what concord hath Christ with Belial P or what
part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath
the temple of God with idols 2 for ye are the temple of the living God;
as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will
be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore, come out from
the world, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and I will be a Father
unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord
Almighty.” Such were the teachings of Christ and His apostles; and,
in these teachings, there was an element of moral power that shook
carnal ordinances from their connection with spiritual religion, and made
manifest to all men that there is a difference between those who serve
God, and those who serve him not. Let that professing Christian
beware, whose manner of life gives the lie to Gospel truth ! But I
wish to call attention to a few other Scripture texts on dancing, and to
some remarks thereon by some of our best biblical scholars. On the
passage, in connection with the parable of the prodigal son, which
speaks of music and dancing, Mr. Barnes says: “In this case it was an
expression of rejoicing. Our Lord expresses no opinion about its pro-
priety. He simply states the fact, nor was there occasion for comment
on it. His mentioning it cannot be pleaded for its lawfulness or
propriety, any more than his mentioning the vice of the younger son or
1)ANCING AND PIETY. I5
the wickedness of the Pharisees can be pleaded to justify their conduct.”
Mr. Barnes further says: “If the example of persons in Scripture be
pleaded for dancing, it can be only for just such dances as they prac-
ticed—for sacred or triumphal occasions.” Job, in speaking of the
ungodly, says : “They send forth their little ones like a flock, and
their children dance.” On this, Mr. Henry remarks: “Their children
are not taught to pray, and seek religious knowledge, but they dance.
Sensual pleasures are all the delights of carnal people ; and as men are
themselves, so they teach their children to be.” “They send forth their
little ones like a flock, and their children dance. They take the timbrel
and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ.” This is translated
by Mr. Good as follows: “They trip merrily to the sound of the pipe.”
Mr. A. Clarke says: “The original is intended to convey the true
notion of the gambols of the rustic nymphs and swains on festival
occasions; and let it be observed that this is spoken of the children of
those who say unto God: Depart from us; for we desire not the know-
ledge of thy ways. What is the Almighty, that we should serve him 2
and what profit shöuld we have if we pray unto him 2 Is it any wonder
that the children of such parents should be living to the flesh and serving
the lusts of the flesh? neither they nor their parents know God, nor do
they pray unto him.” That music and dancing were sometimes
employed for encouraging sensual delights is manifest from the following
passage in Isaiah: “Take a harp, go about the city, thou harlot that
hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou
mayest be remembered.” On this passage, Sir John Chardin, an
eminent oriental scholar, says: “The old prostitutes do nothing but
sing, while the young ones dance; and animate them both by vocal and
instrumental music.” -
“Nor harlot minstrel sings, when the rude sound
Tempts you with heavy heels to thump the ground.”
It was a saying of Cicero, the greatest orator of Rome, “No one
dances unless he is either drunk or mad.” Cicero was not a Christian,
but he was a remarkably intelligent pagan ; and it was on other ground
than that of strict piety that he despised the dance; he thought it
incompatible with an elevated and cultured intelligence.
The christian Church furnishes us with no examples of dancers in
her communion, as patterns of piety. About the year 1760, a class of
persons sprung up among the Methodists of Wales, who were called
I6 DANCING AND PIET Y.
*
g
*
“Jumpers.” Their method of worship was a wild leaping upward in
honor of the Lamb. Christ being called a Lamb, they would bound
and leap like the animal lamb. This sect is now known as the
“Shakers” or “Shaking Quakers.” But, aside from this religious sect,
no forms of dancing have been recognised in the Church of God, as
compatible with true piety, since the passing away of Judaism and the
establishment of the pure spiritual religion of Jesus Christ.
I have now pretty thoroughly canvassed the subject of dancing, so
far as it has any connection with the social customs, or the religious
worship of Bible times; and, in the course of the argument, we have
shown what excited the indignation of Moses on the occasion referred to
in the text. It was not the music and the dancing, but it was the
idolatry unto which the people had turned. This was the great wrong
in connection with that occasion. It had seemed to Moses that this
people ought by this time to have been well established in the doctrine
of one only living and true God. Had they not heard and seen enough
to convince them 7 Had they not experienced enough of God’s gracious
deliverances to assure them that IIe alone is God, and besides Him there
is no being to be called God P But here is Israel in acts of gross
idolatry ! ... The people have gone back to the gods of Egypt; and that,
too, right sight of the mountain where God revealed His awful majesty,
in the lightnings that flashed and blazed, and the thunders that rolled
about and shook the mountain! They have forgotten the plagues that
fell on the Egyptians. They have forgotten their passage through the
Red Sea. They have forgotten the Rock that gave them drink. They
have forgotten the Hand that gave them bread and meat in the wilder-
ness. Yes, forgotten all; and, now, they are dancing before a calf
Moses comes in sight of this folly, and he is seized with a feeling of
despair; and he gives vent to his feelings in a burst of indignation. But
was this thing in Moses excusable % We answer, yes. There are times
when a religious teacher may be justified in a feeling of righteous indig-
nation at the perversity of those who attempt to Compromise religious
truth, and to bring the cause of God down to strikeAin fellowship with
the world. We have seen, too, in the course of the argument, that,
whatever use may have been made of the dance in olden times, it was
adapted only to the cultivation of the lower and less worthy emotions of
our nature, while it left the higher and more spiritual emotions not only
unimproved, but really made worse, Under the Gospel, we have seen
DANCING AND PIETY. 17
that the worship of God is made more spiritual; carnal ordinances are
abolished ; and we are taught not to live after the flesh, but after the
spirit. “For they that are after the flesh, do mind the things of the
flesh; but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” Now,
if I see professing christians turning away from these Gospel truths, and
going after carnal things, I am alarmed ; I am alarmed for their own
safety, and for the influence they will exert against spiritual religion.
The dance is not a christian, but a pagan service; and, as such, it
properly belongs to the idolaters of this world; and to join in their
dance, is to be partakers in their idolatries. For this reason, I would
sound an alarm against christians taking part in the dance. It is the
beginning of a departure from spiritual religion. It is giving up a life
of faith to walk according to the spirit of this world. It is withdrawing
from the fellowship of the Three-One-God to walk in fellowship with
the lovers of this world, and the enemies of God. If my manner appears
earnest, it is because I have a zeal for the Lord, and for spiritual reli-
gion. But I have scarcely yet shown the heat of Moses, nor even the
severe indignation of the lowly Jesus, who, with authority, drove the
worldlings out of God's temple. His only apology was : “The zeal
of the Lord’s house hath eaten me up.” Let persons who are disposed
to charge ministers of religion with too much heat, consider whether
they themselves have not provoked it; and whether the preacher could
be held as innocent, if he did not cry aloud against the aggressions of
Idolatry.
But it is often suggested that times are changing; that public
sentiment now is not what it has been; and ministers ought to keep up
with the times. In this active age, these seem to be very plausible
suggestions; but I would have you consider whether the simple fact of
change is any evidence of improvement. There was a change when the
simplicity of pure Christianity gave place to the idolatries of Romanism;
and in those days the great majority of the ministers of religion kept
right up with the times. Was the Church of God, or the world, made
any the better by this change? and was it any advantage to education,
to morality, or to religion, that the ministers of the Church were obedient
to the spirit of the times? Nay, but the opposite is true. When the
change is toward improvement, then let ministers of the Gospel push
to the front, and lead on; but, if the change is tending toward degen-
eracy, it is their business to beware of it, and sound the alarm. The
18 DANCING AND PIETY.
great majority of Christendom now regard the days of Luther as the
beginning of changes for the better; but those changes were begun by a
return to primitive Christianity; it was a going back to Divine authority
for the law of moral obligation. In times past, the people had turned
away from God; away from God’s word; away from Jesus Christ; they
had made to themselves a pope, and they put him in the place of God,
and would take his word rather than the word of God. Their idolatry
was no better than that of Israel when they danced before the calf,
This unholy union between Idolatry and Christianity was what brought
in the Dark Ages. God and Mammon could not be wedded. Light
and darkness would not intermingle. When the people made themselves
a god, then the God of heaven left them; and the light of spiritual
truth was hid within the dark folds of God’s displeasure, to await a
favorable opportunity for the showing of truth to men. When that
period arrived, then came the word of the ſlord to Luther, saying
“Thus saith the Lord, stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the
old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find
rest for your souls.” They had gone out of the right way; they had
made other paths, and the people and the priests were alike in dark-
ness. Now they must go back to the old paths of Bible truth; and they
must walk therein. This was the beginning of brighter ages. God
again came down to dwell among men. Since then science has improved,
and the entire literary world has been lifted to higher and grander planes
of mental activity. But the spirit of idolatry is still in the world; and
now, as ever, it is ready to offer a helping hand to such feeble Christians
as want other pleasures than communion with God can give. But
whatever revelations have been made in the advancement of science and
general learning, it has as yet appeared from no source whatever that
the spirit of the world is now in friendship with God. Nor is the love
of the world, at this time, any more in harmony with true piety than
it was when the Apostle John wrote these words: “If any man love
the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Little children, keep
yourselves from idols.” But the following propositions are often urged
with great persistence : “Young people are warm blooded, vivacious,
and must have exercise; and they will seek amusements. Many of
them are not Christians, yet they are well disposed, and very respectable
young persons. Now, is it right for us to attempt to compel them to
give up the pleasures which they delight in, because we ourselves do
DAN CING AND PIETY. 19
not delight in those pleasures?” But I submit these propositions have
no bearing on the question under consideration. The question I have
been presenting is not whether Christians should not compel all others
to leave off idolatrous manners and customs, and conform to Christianity;
but, whether those who profess to be Christians, may, with entire
impunity, live and do according to the customs of the idolatrous world?
As Christians, we may urge our religion upon the attention of the
irreligious world, and persuade as many as we can to become Christians;
not by showing them that the difference between a Christian and a
worldling is so slight that no sacrifice is required; but, by making man-
ifest in our lives that the elevating influences of true piety are more
than a mere compensation for the required sacrifices. Christians are
not made by force, but by persuasive teaching. Even religious parents
cannot make Christians, by force, of their own children. But it is
expected of Christian parents that they will bring up their children in
the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Worldlings educate their
children after the customs of the world; and it is expected of Christians
that they will educate their children after the knowledge of Christ.
But, if professing Christians school their children after the rudiments of
an idolatrous world, it is likely they will dance.